shooting stars
by AGENT Kuma-chan
Summary: Illyana wasn't sure why she was out on an open field, babysitting her girlfriend's class in the middle of the night. There were so many better things to do.


**Title: **shooting stars

**A/N:** For Mortalfinlay for the X-men exchange! It's always hard for me to choose between Kitty/Illyana and Kitty/Rachel. XD I'm not sure how my Illyana's voice is but I hope you like this!

**Summary:** _Illyana wasn't sure why she was out on an open field, babysitting her girlfriend's class in the middle of the night. There were so many better things to do._

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A warm, summer night breeze blew through the open field, ruffling Illyana's hair from behind. No, not a breeze. A gust. Her long blonde hair flopped messily in front of her face and she irritably spat out a stray stand of blonde hair. "Why are we out here again?" she grumbled, pushing her hair back.

The only response she got was laughter. Brushing her bangs out of her eyes, Illyana turned to her right and glared at her girlfriend.

Kitty only laughed harder, almost falling backwards onto the grassy plain. Wiping the tears from her eyes, she croaked, "S-sorry."

"You better be." Next time they had a training match, Illyana was going to wipe the floor with her. In front of Kitty's class, if possible. Nothing spoke of revenge like tarnishing a prized teacher's reputation in front of her precious students.

"You just look…" Kitty chuckled, struggling to sit up. "So stupid." Her shoulders shook as she grabbed Illyana's arm to steady herself. "Like a grumpy cat."

"Cats have claws," Illyana warned, narrowing her eyes.

"Don't I know it," Kitty replied slyly with a suggestive smirk, her voice dropping a pitch.

Automatically, Illyana glanced at her girlfriend's back, her ears reddening at the implication. "I—"

Kitty leaned closer, batting her eyes flirtatiously. "You?"

"I…" Fortunately, another gust of wind blew, saving Illyana from having to respond. As her long blonde hair hid her face, she took a deep breath. It had been one thing when Kitty had been aggressively pursuing Piotr or Rachel. Cheering her on from the sidelines had been amusing then. It was an entirely different thing to be on the receiving end of it all and she sent a silent apology to her brother. Recovered, she lifted her hair out of her face grumpily. "I should just cut this."

Giggling, Kitty shook her head. "Don't!" She pushed herself closer to Illyana and started to gather her messy locks. "You just need to tie it up a bit."

"That doesn't change how impractical this is." Illyana rolled her eyes but leaned forward, giving Kitty better access. "Besides, I thought you like it short."

"Not on you." Kitty hummed softly as her fingers carded through Illyana's hair, removing tangles before weaving a loose braid. "It'd be really weird to see you in short hair."

"As weird as your Shadowcat outfit?" she teased, poking at an old sore spot.

"Hey, I was a kid then and it was pretty fashionable! Much better than your spiky black leather," Kitty retorted, pulling the hair a little tighter in retaliation.

"Hmm, I recall someone who couldn't stop looking at said black leather," Illyana remarked casually. She glanced over her shoulder, smirking. "And the short-shorts."

Staring at her for a long moment, Kitty clicked her teeth and pushed Illyana's cheek. "Head forward." She didn't bother to refute the point. "_Anyways_, you just need to tie your hair back."

"Right, that's obviously the problem." Illyana resisted the urge to close her eyes. She liked it when her hair was played with, she always had, and that was probably the only reason she kept it long anymore.

Scanning the field in front of her, she watched as the recent batch of mutant students gathered in bunches around telescopes while others lay flat on the grass and pointed with their fingers at the night sky. In the distance, the lights of Xavier's mansion—no, it'd be better to describe as an institute by now, the amount of remodeling that the place had gone through left it almost unrecognizable from her childhood days. The school's lights shone faintly, giving a clear way back after they finished studying the sky. Hank stood next to a bigger telescope, describing just what they were witnessing. "So?" Illyana asked as Kitty finished the braid. "Why'd you drag me here?"

"A date?" Kitty offered, a charming smile on her face as she pulled back to her original position. At least they were a good distance from the rest of the students, giving them a little privacy.

Illyana snorted. "Try again."

"Because we need chaperones and no one else wanted to do it," Kitty admitted, rubbing her neck sheepishly. When Illyana scowled, she quickly added, "But it's nice, right? We don't really have to do much, just watch out for any emergencies, and we haven't gone out for a date in a while." She gestured at the night sky. "There's shooting stars, it's romantic, isn't it?"

"Yes, very romantic," Illyana replied dryly, staring pointedly at the dozens of kids. "I can totally have my way and ravish you in front of all of these kids. And Hank. No, actually, Hank still doesn't count."

"Aww, come on." Kitty fell back on the grass, motioning to Illyana to join her. "Sure, it's a G-rated date, but it'll be fun. When was the last time we relaxed?"

"Bold of you to assume we can relax now," Illyana admonished. Still, while they did always have to worry about the next attack, Kitty was right—it had been a while since they had an uneventful night. When the kids didn't have to fear for their lives. She eyed the children, remembering when she'd first come to the school, when Dani and Rachel and the others were her classmates. When even the worst problems were solved with everyone coming home. "How long do you think they have?"

Kitty fell silent. She bit her lip, staring vacantly up at the dark sky. "Not long enough."

"Yeah, that's what I thought." She laid down beside Kitty with a sigh. "It never is."

"That's why you gotta enjoy it while you can." Kitty reached out, holding Illyana's hand. She squeezed it tightly.

Warmth shot up Illyana's arm and she tried not to smile. "I think I can do that." A comet shot by overhead, a white streak quickly forming and disappearing in its wake. "A shooting star."

"What?" Kitty's head darted back and forth, trying to catch a glimpse of it. "Where?"

"You missed it." Illyana chuckled.

"Damn." She sighed, her shoulders drooping. "I always miss them. You remember to make a wish?"

A wish? A star couldn't grant what she wanted—she'd seen enough to know magic never worked in her favour. She glanced to her side, at Kitty, and she shrugged. "I already got what I want."

And for the rest, well, she'd just have to figure out as she always had: one day at a time.


End file.
